


No More Waiting (for the Summer)

by shrugheadjonesthethird



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, One Shot, Summer Camp AU, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 05:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14805434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrugheadjonesthethird/pseuds/shrugheadjonesthethird
Summary: Betty and Jughead meet at Summer Camp when they are five years old. It is ten years later and Jug moves back to Riverdale.





	No More Waiting (for the Summer)

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of the upcoming Camp Bughead, I have written a summer camp inspired Bughead Fluff piece. 
> 
> Special thanks to the sprinters on the Bughead Family Discord group for making this happen, along with Tinnie (@i-know-you-can). You girl, you gave me my groove back.
> 
> Also, @cacti-evie, thank you for being my first real beta and being so wonderful! I cannot thank you enough, dearheart! xx
> 
> \--
> 
> The italics are flashbacks, just to clarify.

The first day of school finally arrived. Betty had prepared her whole academic career for this. She was finally a sophomore. This was the year for her to shine, academically, of course. Betty was considered plain by her peers, but she did have her fair share of people who made their intentions known. She didn't receive as much attention as some of her other female peers. Her clothing was modest and seen as purely innocent. Her mother would never allow her to wear something even partially revealing, but this did not mean she received no attention at all. If anything, it served as a catalyst for the eager stares and sideways glances. Betty wasn't a stranger to wandering eyes or awful pick-up lines, but she was never interested in them.

This year, her schedule was jam packed with extracurriculars: school paper, peer mentoring, possible cheerleader, part-time work at the library--all of this on top of full honors courses and attempting to remain calm under her mother’s watchful eyes.

Betty arrived at school early, set to meet the new transfer student assigned to her by Principal Weatherbee. She knew nothing of who the student was, but she was excited at the prospect of a new friend at the very least. She waited by the administrative offices for her newest charge, stuck in a daydream of her summer.

In her mind, it was the last day of camp. She’d been going there since she was five years old. She’d forged friendships she’d never imagine with people she’d never have met otherwise. Veronica Lodge, New York socialite, highest on the list. Well, almost. There was someone vying for that top spot. That someone was--

She’s taken out of her reverie of her summertime best friend. “Jug?” Her eyes were were glued to the familiar figure walking toward her. She blinked rapidly, trying to convince herself he was there--that it wasn’t her memory playing tricks on her. “What’re you--”

“Surprise!” he whispered as he pulled her into a bearhug. He let her go and the look of awe was still painted on her face.

\----

_It was the last day of camp. This was Betty’s least favorite day. It was the day she had to say goodbye to the boy she grew to know, the boy she grew to adore over the last ten summers. When they were five, he moved to Toledo with his mother, but stayed in New York for the summers so he could still go to camp. Two weeks out of every year, she had her best friend and she hated to see it end._

_“Until next year?” Jughead asked._

_“I wish it was sooner,” Betty blushed. “I don’t want to wait an entire year to see you again,” she added nearly inaudibly._

_“I know. Me, too, but, Ohio awaits,” he shrugged. Betty stood in front of him unable to look him in the eyes. Jughead Jones was the best friend she’d ever made. She hated that they only saw each other during the two weeks at camp. As they got older, they were able to talk during the year, and even had an occasional visit when he came to see his father, who lived across town from Betty’s family. But, school would be starting in a week, which meant he had to go back-- they had to go back-- to reality. “Also-” he stared at her, his eyes darted from her eyes to her lips quickly, Betty still couldn’t look at him, so she didn’t notice._

_“What?” she sighed. How could it get any worse than him leaving, she thought. She finally had confronted her feelings that she’d been harboring for Jughead, but she was too much of a coward to say anything to him. There wouldn’t be a point, she thought, he’s too far. There no way he would be interested in plain ol’ Betty Cooper anyway._

_The thought was ripped from her head as he took a step closer to her, his hand cupping her cheek gently. His eyes flicked to her lips again, this time, she noticed. Her cheeks flushed when she realized it. Before she could process what was happening, his lips were on hers. It was innocent, sweet, everything she thought it would be. She smiled against his lips and exhaled. He placed his forehead on hers in the moments after and chuckled._

_“I couldn’t leave without doing that. I’ve wanted to since last summer, but I was too afraid,” Jughead admitted. Betty couldn’t speak yet, she was still in shock that he shared her feelings. “Sorry,” he added after a few minutes of silence._

_“No. Jug. Hey. Don’t be sorry,” she smiled and pressed her lips to his, feeling slightly more confident. When they parted, her smile persisted, despite her nerves. “I was scared, too.”_

\----

Jughead waved his hand in front of Betty’s face. “Where’d you go?” he joked.

“You’re here,” she whispered, more to herself than to him. “What about Toledo?” Betty was trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was standing with him, in her high school, _their_ high school.

“I moved back in with my Dad,” Jughead shrugged. A huge smile erupted on Betty’s face. Betty took his hand into hers and laced their fingers together easily. It would surely not be unnoticed as they walked the halls, but Betty did not care. “So, I’m supposed to meet my peer mentor here, have you seen--”

“That’s me,” Betty admitted, raising her hand to her shoulder. “Do you think it was just pure happenstance that I was standing here nearly an hour before first bell?”

“Well, you are an overachiever, Tiny.” Betty felt the heat in her cheeks, nearly up to her ears. He’d been calling her that since they were seven, when he was finally taller than her. “So, Miss Cooper, how about that tour?” He winked and she scrunched her nose.

They made their way slowly down the hall, their hands still intertwined. There weren’t many students there yet, but slowly they made their way into the halls to their various preschool activities.

“B. Coop!” she heard being called down the hall. She turned around, still holding Jughead’s hand to find Reggie Mantle sprinting toward her. Before she could process what was happening, her hand was ripped from Jughead’s and she was being twirled around, her legs bent at the knees. Her circle skirt flair slightly around her hips with the momentum. Jughead stood to the side, very confused. Reggie put her down and she grabbed onto Jughead’s shoulder for balance. He slipped his arm around her waist to steady her.

“Hey, Reg!” Betty squeaked.

“Are you finally going to let me take you out this year? I’ve been asking for years, I’m going to wear you down eventually.”

“Reginald Mantle! I’ve made it abundantly clear that I’m not interested. Or has too many headshots at football training made you forget?” There was a small smirk on Jughead’s face. At that moment, Reggie turned his attention to Jughead. He raked over him, head to toe, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Who’s the new guy?” Reggie asked, pointing his thumb in Jughead’s general direction. Betty grabbed his hand again before speaking.

“Reggie Mantle, this is my--Jughead. Jughead, this is Reggie.” Jughead stuck his hand out to shake Reggie’s. He did not reciprocate. He dropped his hand as Reggie stared at them. He looked down and noticed their hands. He raised a curious eyebrow.

Jughead stood there, watching the interaction quietly. His wardrobe was simple, black jeans, paired with black boots, a plain gray t-shirt with a black and blue flannel tied around his waist, suspenders dangling behind it. His gray crown beanie perched on his head, as it had been for the last five years. This was the Jughead Betty had come to know over the course of ten years. This was the boy who had stolen her heart, but they hadn’t had that talk yet. While yes, they had admitted their feelings for each other, not in so many words, but they hadn’t discussed what they meant for them as a unit.

Reggie ran his tongue over his teeth, clearly frustrated. He scoffed and walked away. Betty sighed and smoothed down her hair in frustration.

“What was that?” Jughead chuckled. He was used to getting strange looks from jocks, add on top of that being the new kid. He learned to brush it off years ago and he wouldn’t let it affect him now.

“Sorry, Jug. He’s been asking me out since we were thirteen, but I’ve never been interested in the likes of him,” she smiled at him.

\----

_Betty remembered the first time Jughead held her hand. They were ten years old and walking toward the lake for their kayaking lesson. The path was narrow and uneven. She was talking adamantly about the book she’d finished right before coming to camp and wasn’t paying attention to where she was walking. She tripped over a rock on the path and lost her balance. Jughead had been slightly behind her and caught her by the waist and the hand._

_Betty looked back at him and smiled._

_“Good thing you were here, Juggie,” her smile was infectious. She righted herself, but never let go of his hand._

\----

“Oh no?” Jughead asked. “Why’s that?” He teased. They continued walking down the hallway toward the rows of sophomore lockers. Betty glanced at him sideways.

“Not my type,” she shrugged. She knew the real reason, but she wasn’t fully ready to admit it just yet. She wasn’t even sure what she and Jughead were to each other. She didn’t want to admit how far her feelings went until she knew his.

“You had a type at thirteen?” He raised his eyebrows curiously. Betty hummed in response.

“This is your locker!” Betty exclaimed quick to change the subject. “Mine is only three down from here,” she said pointing to her left. Jughead hung his messenger bag on the hook in the back of the narrow blue locker before closing it. He pulled his schedule out of his pocket and handed it to Betty. She looked it over with a smile on her face. They would share classes at various points of the day, including their lunch.

They continued their tour of the school ending back at the administration office.

“Betty!” someone called out. “Betty!” Jughead turned around to see a flash of red hair catapulting toward them.

“Incoming,” Jughead jested. Again, Betty was hoisted into the air. She was placed down a few seconds later. She turned around to see the ginger boy’s bright smile, dimples on display.

“Hey, Arch. You’re acting like I didn’t see you at Pop’s last night,” Betty giggled. Jughead narrowed his eyes. He stepped forward and placed his arm around Betty’s shoulders. She grabbed his hand with hers and looked over at him smiling. “Archie Andrews, this is Jughead Jones. Jug, this is my next-door neighbor and built in best friend, Archie.”

“Hey. Nice to meet you, finally. I’ve heard so much about you,” Jughead said nodding in Archie’s direction.

“Wait, Jughead, like _the_ Jughead?” He asked looking at Betty. Betty looked down mildly embarrassed. “Like your camp best friend for the last ten years, Jughead? The guy you--”

“Yes, Archie. This is Jughead. Do you really think there would be more than one Jughead Jones on this planet?” Betty asked, cutting Archie off before he divulged too much information. Betty had been talking about Jughead since they were five.

\----

_It was the first day of camp. All of the five year olds were in the same group. Betty stood unpacking her duffle bag in the corner of the cabin. One of the CIT’s came in with a small, dark-haired boy. He looked around the cabin before he decided where he wanted to unpack his stuff. It was the bunk next to Betty’s._

_“I like your pigtails,” Jughead said._

_“Thanks, I like your suspenders. But, I don’t think they’re doing their job hanging like that.” She covered her mouth as she giggled. Jughead looked down embarrassed. “I’m Elizabeth Cooper, but everyone calls me Betty.”_

_“Forsythe Pendleton Jones, III,” he said, “but, everyone calls me Jughead.” Jughead reached out to shake her hand, but instead was brought in for a hug._

_“Well, Jughead, I have a good feeling about you,” Betty smiled._

\----

Archie stood in disbelief staring at Jughead. He looked exactly as Betty described. “Sorry, I just--”

“You just?” Jughead goaded.

“I kinda thought you made him up, B.” He blinked in rapid succession.

“Definitely real,” Jughead said raising his hand meekly.

“Huh,” Archie huffed, shaking his head, still in mild disbelief. “Anyway, when’s your lunch?”

“Sixth,” they said in unison.

“Cool, see you then,” Archie said turning around and walking toward the gym.

Jughead looked at Betty incredulously. Betty’s cheeks were still stained pink after the interaction with Archie--the interaction that could have revealed too much, too soon. Archie and Betty had been best friends since they were in diapers--the perks of being next door neighbors. She confided her secrets to him, told him about Jughead, even used him as a sounding board when she tried to sort her feelings out. Betty didn’t realize Archie thought she made him up.

They weren’t allowed to use cell phones at camp. It was one of the more strict policies. There were few photos of them from their years growing up together, but they always managed at least one per summer. Betty would look at them throughout the years, longing to see him for more than two weeks, longing for the friendship she had forged all those years ago. She’d come home every year and print them out and stuck them in her vanity mirror to remind herself to have fun, even in the height of her crazy schedule.

\----

_“C’mon, Tiny! They won’t catch us,” Jughead said._

_“Jug, they said no phones. What if they catch us?”_

_“The more we talk about it, the more likely someone is to. Let’s just do it!” Betty huffed. Jughead pulled her closer to him and draped his arm over her shoulder, holding his cell phone in the other. “Ready?” Betty nodded._

_Jughead snapped a photo of the two of them. Their smiles were ear to ear, toothy and rosy cheeked. It was the second to last day of summer and Jughead decided he wanted to smuggle his cell phone out of the front office._

_“It’s for posterity, Betty. I can’t live on memories alone, you know,” he teased._

_“You better send it to me,” Betty said taking a look at the screen. They heard footsteps coming down the trail. “Quick, put it way!” Betty jumped. Jughead slid his phone into the bottom pocket of his cargo shorts and grabbed Betty’s hand to lead her away from the trail._

\----

Betty snapped out of her reverie to find Jughead staring at her again. He had been trying to get her attention, it seemed.

“Where do you keep going?” Jughead laughed. Betty shook her head. She realized in that moment that she didn’t need to think about camp to get by without Jughead. He was here, with her, in Riverdale. He moved from Riverdale when he was five to Toledo to live with his mother, but he begged for her to let him keep going to camp in New York; he looked forward to it all year. Despite living in the same town, they were from opposite sides and Betty’s overbearing mother would never be caught dead in that part of town. Over the years, the reasons changed why he enjoyed it so much. At first, it was because there were no fighting parents, then because there was no crying little sister, but then, his most recent and longest reason--Betty.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were moving back, Jug?” Betty asked.

“I wanted to surprise you. How much time do we have before first bell?” Jughead asked, quickly changing the subject. Betty pulled out her phone and clicked the screen on. He looked down to see the time, but instead was distracted by the photo. It was the photo from their first summer at camp together: five year old Jughead Jones, pre-beanie with an overly excited blonde Betty Cooper with her hair tied back with a pink ribbon.

\----

_“Jughead, wait!” Betty called after him as he headed toward his father’s pick up truck. He turned around quickly, smiling as Betty ran toward him._

_“What’s up, Tiny?” he said. She took a second to catch her breath. She was fiddling with something behind her back. “Whatcha got there?” He asked peering over her shoulder._

_“I just figured that--” she took another deep breath “--since it get pretty cold in Ohio in the winter that you could use this.” She produced a gray knitted beanie from behind her back. He looked down at it, the expression on his face was a mixture of confusion and adoration. “If you don’t like it, it’s okay.” She said as she fidgeted her feet in the dirt. Jughead pulled the wool over his head, a perfect fit._

_“I love it, Betty,” he started, “Wait! Did you make this? This is what you were working on?” Betty nodded, her lips pursed together. “No one’s ever made me anything before.” The smile on his face grew, effectively causing Betty’s to widen, as well._

\----

Jughead smirked at the photo and tugged gently on his worn beanie. It had been five years since Betty had made it for him and he’s worn it almost every day since she gave it to him.

“We have about a twenty minutes until the bell. Sorry, we got through the tour pretty quickly.” Betty shrugged, not actually sorry for the length of the mentoring session.

“Is there somewhere we can talk? Without anyone else coming up and flinging you in the air?” Jughead chortled. Betty didn’t say anything, she simply took his hand and pulled him down the hallway.

“This is the newspaper office. Well, I guess you could say it’s my office, no one else is working on the paper with me.” Betty pursed her lips. They walked through the door and flicked on the lights. The room was small, but it was cozy, safe.

“Well, then I guess it’s our office then,” Jughead said turning to face Betty. Her face lit up with excitement. “It’ll be like that time we tracked down who stole--”

“Susan Underwood’s sleeping bag!” They said in unison. They laughed together for what felt like hours, but in reality was a few seconds.

“What’d you wanna talk about?” Betty asked slumping onto the worn couch on the far side of the office.

“So, a few things,” Jughead took a deep, steadying breath. “First, thanks for showing me around, I know it’s your job, or whatever, but thanks all the same. Second, what was Archie going to say before you cut him off?” She avoided his eye contact, still embarrassed at what Archie almost revealed.

Yes, they’d shared a kiss, but that was before she knew he was going to be transferring schools. Jughead has always been her summertime crush, at least until they were thirteen. She had talked to Archie about what it all meant.

\----

_Betty and Archie sat on the basement floor in the Andrews’ house watching a movie, their tradition for the night before school started._

_“So, you remember me talking about Jughead, right, Arch?”_

_“Your best friend from camp, yea.” Archie said, rolling his eyes._

_“Well, I think I like like him,” Betty whispered._

_“What?” Archie looked at her confused. There had been ramblings around their junior high school of people starting to develop feelings for their classmates, but no one ever thought it would happen to Betty Cooper._

_“You heard me. Don’t make me say it again,” Betty was already embarrassed. “You know what, forget I said anything.” Betty stood up and dusted off the back of her pants, gathered her bag and headed toward the stairs._

_“Betty, come back! The movie isn’t over yet.”_

\----

Betty sighed, “I _may_ have talked to Archie about you--just a little,” she held up her thumb and index finger.

“Oh?” Jughead asked, more curious now that he had been when he asked the initial question.

“You said you wanted to kiss me since last summer, but you were afraid. Why’d you wait until the last day?”

“You still didn’t answer my question,” he retorted.

“I told Archie that I liked you,” she hung her head in fear of his reaction. He sat next to her on the couch, angling toward her.

“When?” He whispered. He was leaning closer to her.

“The day I got home from camp two years ago,” she admitted. “Now, answer my question.” Her eyes were still trained on the ink stain on the tile floor.

“I wanted to wait until I knew I didn’t have to wait a whole year to do it again,” he breathed on the shell of her ear. “I knew I was moving back at the end of last year. I wanted to tell you, but just in case something happened, I didn’t want to get your, our, hopes up.” He leaned down and placed a feather light kiss on her cheek. She turned her head, feeling tears prick in the back of her eyes. She laced her finger back within his.

“You still have that hat?” She asked, willing the tears to subside.

“Yeah, I wear it everyday, well, most days.” Jughead shrugged.

“Why?” She whispered.

“Because it reminds me of my favorite girl,” he confessed. “You spent two weeks making this for me. When we met, I didn’t think this is where we would be. I am so grateful for you, Tiny.” He took a steady breath in before continuing. “When I wear it, I am safe at camp with you, not home with a mom who only does things half assed, or a dad who feigns sobriety for the attention. It’s like I have a piece of you with me everyday.” He twisted his mouth side to side, waiting for her to respond.

The tears she was attempting to will away made their way back to the forefront. They slowly spilled onto her cheeks. Jughead placed his hand on her cheek and wiped her tears away. He gave her a shy smile, hoping it would make her smile in return. It did.

“Jug, that’s so sweet. I’m sorry about your parents though.” She toyed with the bracelet on her left wrist. The sunlight against the charm caught Jughead’s eye. He took her hand in his, lifting it to get a better look. The string it was on looked faded and worn, like it hadn’t been taken off in a long while. He turned it in his hands to identify the source of the glint that caught his eye. His shy smile turned into a grin when he saw it. It was a crown, small and delicate to match it’s owner. Jughead ran this thumb over the metal crown in recognition. Betty didn’t say anything, she simply smiled and placed her hand on his knee. That simple gesture told him everything he needed to know.

\--

_Betty wandered the store while her mother set out on a mission. Her fingers glided along the edge of a metal case before it caught her eye. A bracelet, a small silver crown tied simply to blue cording. Her eyes widened and she knew it had to be hers._

\---

“That was not the important part of that confession.” Betty tilted her head to the side and smirked.

“I’m your favorite girl?” She asked.

“You, Elizabeth Cooper, are the best person I have ever met.” Their ear to ear smiles mirrored each other’s. “I have one more question for you though.”

“And what’s that?”

“Now that we both live in the same state,” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I was wondering if I could take you out some time. I know you’ve gotten plenty of other offers over the last year or so, but, I was hoping you’d give the new guy a chance?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Jug. My schedule is pretty full. This may have been the year I accepted the invite from Reggie,” she teased. The lilt in her voice was lost to Jughead. He looked down embarrassed.

“Oh. Nevermind, then,” he said, placing his hands on his knees and pushing himself off the couch. She reached out and tugged on his wrist stopping him in his tracks. “No, Betty it’s fine--”

“Jughead, I was kidding! I just got finished telling you I’ve been harboring these feelings for two years!” She cupped his neck, he thumb tracing idle circles of his jaw. “Besides, I hear this new guy is just my type.” She winked. Jughead leaned down and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hummed contentedly.

“I think this is the best first day of school I’ve ever had,” Jughead laughed.

The first bell rang and Jughead leaned down to kiss her. She pointed her feet and stood on her tiptoes to meet him there when he stopped at the intrusive sound.

“Walk me to class?” Betty asked with the brightest smile gracing her lips.

“Well, how can I say no to that smile? I don’t think I ever could.” They joined hands again and made their way to the first class of the day, not caring who saw them hold hands, or kiss outside of the classroom door.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Love you all. xx


End file.
